Paying it Forward
by EdwardsMate4ever
Summary: The far-reaching power of community helps a couple find a semblance of peace in the death of their child. A Christmas one-shot.


**Paying it Forward**

**Summary:** The far-reaching power of community helps a couple find a semblance of peace in the death of their child. A Christmas one-shot.

* * *

Eight-year-old EJ Masen was not long for this world.

It was early November when the once vibrant little boy finally succumbed to his hard-fought battle with leukemia. Even in his final days, when hope was lost and the child struggled to draw breath, he smiled for his parents. He was mature beyond his years; he knew that death approached. He assured his parents, who were determined not to cry in his presence, that he was ready to see his Grandma up in heaven. His dog, Yuppy, too—EJ couldn't wait to run and play with the pup up in the fluffy, white clouds, with God there to cheer them on. The little boy was so strong of spirit, although his body had wasted away a little more every day for the past two years.

Bella lay in the hospital bed next to her son, cradling his head against her chest, humming his favorite song— she had sung "You Are My Sunshine" to him since before his birth, when he was still snug in her womb, his life an open and waiting canvas. Edward held his son's hand in his own, caressing the paper-thin skin with his thumb as EJ drew his final breath. When the little boy's chest rose no more, Bella's humming faltered, and the tears that they'd held at bay sprung forth. There was no reason for strength anymore.

All was lost.

The small town of Forks was aware of the tragedy that had befallen the Masen family. No one could remember the last time one so young had fallen terminally ill within the community, and they banded together in support of Bella and Edward. When EJ had first gotten sick, several fundraisers were held to raise money for the hospital bills. When EJ had rallied and seemed to be getting better, they rejoiced along with the parents. And when EJ took a turn for the worst, and there wasn't even a glimmer of hope for recovery, the community's hearts broke with theirs.

EJ's funeral was so well attended that all of the mourners could not fit inside the church. People whom Edward and Bella had never met made meals for them. The town started a charity in EJ's name, to help fund research for his disease. When the Masens would visit little EJ's grave at the cemetery, there was always an abundance of fresh flowers, stuffed animals and balloons from the many people who cared.

Although Bella and Edward had time to prepare for the real possibility of EJ's passing, nothing could prepare them for the loneliness in their home, the constant memories that every corner of that house held. As heart-wrenching as it was to stay in the house, they could not bear to leave it either; it was the place where EJ spent his whole, short life, and they just couldn't fathom selling. It would be like giving up the last bit of their son. The memories were painful, but memories were all they had now.

As the weeks wore on, the bereft parents found comfort in the kindness of the townsfolk. They were remembered on Thanksgiving with food and flowers and cards and care packages—more things than they could ever have use for, but the gestures were appreciated. It made them feel less alone.

A few days later, Edward took Bella out for a drive for some fresh air. They'd been holed up in the house for a long time, and getting out was freeing, in a way. Bella spotted the Starbucks, and asked Edward to pull into the drive-thru for a hot cocoa.

"With extra whipped cream," Bella added after Edward had given the order to the operator.

Edward smiled at her as he inched the car forward in line. "EJ would have liked that."

"Yeah, he always giggled when the whipped cream would end up on the tip of his nose."

They both chuckled at the memory. It felt good to remember something happy about their son. As they waited in the long queue for their turn, Edward's face grew contemplative. It wasn't the withdrawn, sad look that Bella had grown used to, though; it was more thoughtful.

"What are you thinking, Edward?" she asked tentatively.

Edward let out a sigh as he inched the car forward one car length. "I was thinking about how kind the people in this town have been to us. I was just wishing we could do something in return."

Bella nodded and looked out the window. Of course, they couldn't really do anything to thank the community. How could they possibly repay the people for all they had done for her family?

Finally, it was their turn. Edward rolled down the window and held out his debit card. But before he let go of the card, he said to the clerk, "I'd like to pay for the order of the person behind me in line. Can you just tell them that it's in honor of EJ Masen?"

The clerk nodded and handed the cocoa to Edward, swiping the card before giving it back."That's real nice of you, Mr. Masen."

"It's the least I could do, after everything that's been done for my son," Edward replied, before rolling up his window and driving away.

**~PIF~**

Mrs. Cope waited in the Starbucks drive-thru queue, impatiently drumming her fingers against the steering wheel. She really needed her caffeine fix—why was this line so damned long? When it was finally her turn, she rolled down her window and held out a ten dollar bill. But the clerk didn't take it.

"Already paid for, ma'am," the teenage boy told her.

Mrs. Cope blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

"Your coffee's been paid for, ma'am, in honor of EJ Masen."

A flood of memories flashed through the elementary school administrator's mind. Little EJ, the boy who had collapsed near the start of first grade two years ago, who had to withdraw from school when he was diagnosed with leukemia…who passed away a few short weeks ago.

"E…EJ Masen?" She stuttered, a lump rising in her throat.

"Yup, that was Mr. Masen in the car before you. Said it was the least he could do, after what this town did for his son. Guess he was paying it forward." The boy shrugged and smiled, handing her the coffee.

Mrs. Cope nodded in acknowledgment before thanking the boy and driving away. For the rest of the day, she could not get Edward Masen out of her head. The poor man had to be dealing with so much, struggling to cope with the loss of his child. How did he have the mental capacity to think about others, and try to repay them? It mystified her; she was sure that it she were in the same situation, she would simply wallow in her misery.

All night, she considered this act of gratitude, and come morning, she headed to work with a plan in her mind. EJ would be in the third grade now. So she went to the third grade classroom and pulled the teacher aside. Mrs. Cope handed her a stack of twenty handwritten notes and enough money to pay for each child's lunch that day.

** ~PIF~**

It was evening, and Ben Cheney was in the drive-thru line at McDonald's. His daughter had begged for a Happy Meal and, while he and Angela were not fond of feeding her fast food, they gave in this time. The loss of young EJ had caused them to hold little Leslie tighter these days, and they found themselves catering to her childhood desires more often than usual. After all, what was the harm in a Happy Meal every once in a while? Life was short.

As he waited in line, he thought about Bella. He remembered her from high school—Edward too. They were a nice couple, and his daughter was the same age as EJ was. He couldn't help but wonder, if EJ had been able to attend school past the first grade, maybe the two children would have been friends. His heart ached for the couple, and he found himself thinking, as he often did these days, what he would do if Leslie died. He quickly tried to distract himself; he didn't want to be a blubbering mess when it was his turn to collect his food.

His mind did not travel far from EJ, however. When he had returned home from work that day, Angela showed him a note that had been put in Leslie's backpack. It read "_Paying it Forward for EJ Masen_" and the envelope with Leslie's lunch money was still sealed. Angela had called around to some of the other mothers in Leslie's class—it seemed that some kind soul had paid for all of the third grade lunches that day, in honor of little EJ.

When it was finally Ben's turn to receive his food, he opened his wallet to pay for the Happy Meal. He took out the entire contents—about forty dollars—and handed it to the girl in the window.

The girl quirked an eyebrow at him. "Uh, sir, your order is only 6.50."

Ben smiled at her. "I'd like to pay for as many dinners as that will cover in the line behind me. But please, tell them it's in honor of EJ Masen. Paying it forward."

** ~PIF~**

Jessica Stanley stared at the pimply-faced girl in shock. "Someone paid for my meal?"

"Yes," the girl answered. "In honor of an EJ Masen. They were paying it forward, or something."

Jessica closed her open mouth, took her food and drove off. How could that stupid girl be so ignorant not to know who EJ Masen was? Or maybe she didn't care. Teenagers were so full of themselves. Jessica rolled her eyes at herself, remembering that she hadn't been so different when she was a teen. Now, she had married into some money, living more than comfortably. She remembered Bella and Edward from high school, and when she heard about their tragedy, she was glad she'd decided not to have kids. If a child of hers died like that, she thought she'd probably end up in the loony bin. Besides, she was much too busy to devote time to a needy kid.

Still, the death saddened her; her heart wasn't made of stone, after all. And this pay it forward thing was kind of a nice gesture. Jessica liked to make sure her monetary contributions were well publicized, but this time, something inside was telling her to continue this idea of paying it forward. Anonymously.

Before she could change her mind, she drove to the nearest Wal-Mart, braving the throngs of people much poorer than herself, shopping for cheap things for their kids for Christmas. She followed the signs to the back of the store, careful not to brush up against any of the heathens surrounding her.

Finally, she made it to the layaway section. The dumbfounded man behind the counter looked her up and down, wondering what the hell this glamorous woman was doing in a Wal-Mart. He wasn't used to seeing the customers looking so put together.

"Can…can I help you?" he stuttered.

"Yes," Jessica said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "I want to finish paying off layaway for somebody's kid. I'm willing to spend 200 dollars."

Taken aback, the man stuttered some more. "Oh, uh, er, OK. There's a swing set back there, has about that much left on it, I think."

"Great. I'll pay for that one then," she said, plunking the money down on the counter.

"Can I tell the customer who it's from?"

"Just say I'm paying it forward for EJ Masen."

** ~PIF~**

Leah Clearwater elbowed her way through the rabid shoppers at Wal-Mart, a hundred dollar bill clutched in her fist inside the pocket of her coat. She held on for dear life, because if she lost it, there would definitely be no swing set. She was already forgoing a lot of small luxuries to give her kids what they wanted this year, like using bar soap instead of body wash, for one thing. But it was worth it, even if she was scraping by. The kids deserved at least one decent Christmas. As it was, she wasn't sure she'd be able to come up with the final hundred dollars for the next layaway payment; the phone bill had been a lot higher this month than she expected. Maybe she could wait a month to pay that…would the phone company shut it off after one missed payment? She hoped not.

Finally, she made it to the counter. "Hi, I'm making a payment on the Clearwater account," she said, taking the crumpled bill out of her pocket, ready to hand it over.

"That won't be necessary," the man informed her. "It's been paid for."

"What?" Leah was fuming. If it was her ex, she was going to be pissed. She wanted to be the one to do this for the kids. "By who?" Leah demanded.

"The lady didn't leave a name. She said she was paying it forward for EJ Masen."

Leah swallowed hard and took a step back. She'd seen the story of that poor boy's death on the local news a few weeks ago. At the time, she had wished there was something she could do, but there had been no extra money. Now there was. She told the man she would be by to pick up the swing set tomorrow, and went for a drive to the neighboring town of Port Angeles. The kids were in school, and now that she had 200 extra dollars, she thought she would give herself a treat.

She drove to her favorite bakery and ordered her favorite coffee, along with several pastries. She settled down and ate, thinking about the fact that this nameless, faceless woman had just given her family a little bit of freedom from the ugly grip of money trouble. She would be remiss if she didn't try to do something in return. So, she went up to the cash register when she finished her food and paid for two other lunches, in the name of EJ Masen.

** ~PIF~**

It was Christmas Eve, and Riley Biers was having dinner with his girlfriend at a fancy Italian restaurant in Seattle. Riley's parents had died when he was young, and he had grown up in the foster care system. He had some nice people as foster parents, but nowhere that he really called home. Vicki's family lived in England, and neither of them were very good cooks, so they were celebrating at the restaurant instead of potentially settling their apartment on fire.

Vicki started to tell a story. "Remember last week when I went to Port Angeles with some of my girlfriends?" Riley nodded. "Well, I don't think I told you this, but we went to lunch at this coffee shop."

"Exciting," Riley said sarcastically.

Vicki made a face at him before continuing. "Anyway, there were a bunch of us, so the bill was kind of pricey, but when we went to pay it, it had already been taken care of!"

"Do you have secret admirer I don't know about?" Riley teased, narrowing his eyes in mock-suspicion.

"No!" Vicki exclaimed, slapping him playfully on the forearm. "The girl at the register said someone was doing it for EJ Masen. Paying it forward."

"Who's EJ Masen?" Riley asked.

"I didn't know either, but I Googled him when I got home. He's a little boy who died of leukemia. Apparently, there is a Facebook page of people who are doing that sort of thing in his name. It's really sweet."

Vicki's story touched something deep inside Riley. He wanted to keep it going; it was a really nice idea. He glanced around the restaurant. It was pretty empty, seeing as it was Christmas Eve, but this place was expensive, and he could only realistically pay for one other meal besides their own. He spotted a couple who seemed rather sad, sitting in a booth near the window.

"How about we pay for them? They look like they could use some Christmas cheer."

Vicki leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"I love you, Riley."

** ~PIF~**

Christmas was EJ's favorite holiday, and it was simply too much, too soon for Bella and Edward to be in that house. They decided to go away for a few days, as far away from Forks as they could manage on a budget and short notice. They went to Seattle and got a relatively cheap hotel room for a few days, but they decided to splurge a little on a nice dinner for Christmas Eve. They opted for Italian food, a choice that was as far away from their usual tradition of glazed turkey as they could get.

The couple ate mostly in silence, struggling to control their emotions. It didn't matter how far from home they were; the hole that EJ left in their hearts was too big to escape, especially on their first Christmas without him. How they would be able to move on from this, neither of them knew, but they were trying. Trying to be strong for EJ. That's what he would have wanted.

When they finished their meal, Edward asked for the bill. The waiter brought over the leather folder with a smile and wished them a Merry Christmas. Edward fished his credit card out of his pocket and then opened the folder.

He stared at the bill, his eyes wide, the expression on his face unreadable. Then, a single tear trickled down his cheek.

"Oh, baby," Bella whispered. "Is it that expensive?"

Edward just shook his head, words escaping him. Instead, he handed her the folder.

The bill read a zero balance, and it said in cursive script:

"_Paying it Forward in Memory of EJ Masen_"

Bella took the receipt out of the folder and clutched it to her chest, reaching across the table with her other hand. Edward grabbed hold of it, and they held onto each other's hands tightly, tears streaming from their eyes, grins spreading on their faces.

"He lives on," Bella said fervently. "He lives on through the kindness of others."

"Just the way he would want it to be," Edward confirmed.

They gathered their coats and left the restaurant, the receipt tucked securely in Bella's purse, their arms linked around one another's waist. For the first time in a very long time, there was a lightness in their step.

This was their first step toward healing.

* * *

**A/N:** Inspired by the true story of Jayden Lamb.


End file.
